ABSTRACT
Adding tension to a system is intended to energize it, which requires fine-tuning: at some point, the system becomes overloaded. Such a situation underlies most downsizing or rightsizing, where the goal is to eliminate some employees while increasing the workload of those who remain. This common elemental fine-tuning strategy is not guaranteed to work. Failure can be costly, nonetheless, and perhaps is so in the majority of cases. This entry offers the phase model of burnout, which is the farthest along of several possible developmental models. A few details suggest the nature and range of support for this view.
